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From Amazon.co.uk
Bolstered by an Oscar-caliber performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, Capote ranked highly among the best films of 2005. Written by actor/screenwriter Dan Futterman and based on selected chapters from the biography by Gerald Clarke, this mercilessly perceptive drama shows how Truman Capote brought about his own self-destruction in the course of writing In Cold Blood, the "nonfiction novel" that was immediately acclaimed as a literary milestone. After learning of brutal killings in rural Holcomb, Kansas, in November 1959, Capote gained the confidence of captured killers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) in an effort to tell their story, but he ultimately sacrificed his soul in the process of writing his greatest book. Hoffman transcends mere mimicry to create an utterly authentic, psychologically tormented portrait of an insincere artist who was not above lying and manipulation to get what he needed. Bennett Miller's intimate direction focuses on the consequences of Capote's literary ambition, tempered by an equally fine performance by Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote's friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, who served as Capote's quiet voice of conscience. Spanning the seven-year period between the Kansas murders and the publication of In Cold Blood in 1966, Capote reveals the many faces of a writer who grew too close to his subjects, losing his moral compass as they were fitted with a hangman's noose. --Jeff Shannon
Stills from Capote (click for larger image)
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Product Description
DVD Sony, mdr41815, PAL Region 2
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Capote: "Perry and I grew up in the same house, and one day he went out the back door and I went out the front."
3 May 2006
Format:DVD
This brutally honest portrait of author Truman Capote, with its stunning photography (by Adam Kimmel) and Academy Award-winning acting, has been one of the most "decorated" films of 1995. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winner as Best Actor, becomes Capote in this film--small, effete, and vulnerable, but also selfish, petulant, weak, and sometimes cruel. Catherine Keener, as Harper Lee, Capote's childhood friend, offers a stunning contrast to Hoffman's Capote. Tall, honest, and committed to keeping Capote focused, she grounds the film, while serving as Capote's research assistant during his investigation of the cold-blooded killings of four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959.
At the opening of the film, the clean, flat plains and unadorned farmhouse belonging to the victims form a visual contrast with Capote's frantic life in New York. A naive teenager's discovery of the murders, the savagery of the murders, and effects of the murders on the townspeople continue the contrasts between the harsh realities of local life and the esoteric lifestyle of Capote. When Perry Smith (sensitively played by Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Richard Eugene Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) are arrested, and Capote makes contact with Smith, the viewer suddenly sees Capote and Smith as similar--both lonely, sad, a bit shy, and sometimes frightened. As Perry Smith begins to confide in Capote, the similarities of their backgrounds and dysfunctional families become even more obvious.
Exceptionally opportunistic, Capote is also deeply affected by Smith, feeding him when his hunger strike leaves him close to death, but also borrowing Smith's personal journals for his research because "I don't want the world to see you as a monster.... Read more ›
At the opening of the film, the clean, flat plains and unadorned farmhouse belonging to the victims form a visual contrast with Capote's frantic life in New York. A naive teenager's discovery of the murders, the savagery of the murders, and effects of the murders on the townspeople continue the contrasts between the harsh realities of local life and the esoteric lifestyle of Capote. When Perry Smith (sensitively played by Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Richard Eugene Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) are arrested, and Capote makes contact with Smith, the viewer suddenly sees Capote and Smith as similar--both lonely, sad, a bit shy, and sometimes frightened. As Perry Smith begins to confide in Capote, the similarities of their backgrounds and dysfunctional families become even more obvious.
Exceptionally opportunistic, Capote is also deeply affected by Smith, feeding him when his hunger strike leaves him close to death, but also borrowing Smith's personal journals for his research because "I don't want the world to see you as a monster.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Roger Jon Ellory, who dedicated his masterpiece 'A Quiet Belief in Angels' to Truman Capote, urged me to see this film and within a few minutes of the start I could see why. I wanted to see it before I read the novel on which it is based, IN COLD BLOOD. This movie is not a lifetime biopic; instead it covers what were surely the most important five years in the life of one of the greatest American writers of his time, which he dedicated to writing what would become his last completed novel - although it was classified as non-fiction as it was based on real events.
I think you would benefit from a prior knowledge of Capote and who he was in order to enjoy this film. I can imagine that anyone knowing nothing about him might find it all rather uninteresting. But anybody with a curiosity to know more about this enigmatic, gregarious and highly intelligent man should find it captivating, due in no small part to the portrayal by Hoffman, who probably took a big risk by accepting the part because if he had got it wrong he could have been ridiculed for years. For example, there's Capote's very unusual voice; I must admit that I opted to have the subtitles switched on because I found it difficult at times to understand what Hoffman was saying, but later on when I watched the very interesting 'extras' on the DVD - which included an interview with Capote himself - I realised that the reproduction of his voice was remarkably accurate. It must have been very difficult to speak like that without sounding camp, but Hoffman never does.... Read more ›
I think you would benefit from a prior knowledge of Capote and who he was in order to enjoy this film. I can imagine that anyone knowing nothing about him might find it all rather uninteresting. But anybody with a curiosity to know more about this enigmatic, gregarious and highly intelligent man should find it captivating, due in no small part to the portrayal by Hoffman, who probably took a big risk by accepting the part because if he had got it wrong he could have been ridiculed for years. For example, there's Capote's very unusual voice; I must admit that I opted to have the subtitles switched on because I found it difficult at times to understand what Hoffman was saying, but later on when I watched the very interesting 'extras' on the DVD - which included an interview with Capote himself - I realised that the reproduction of his voice was remarkably accurate. It must have been very difficult to speak like that without sounding camp, but Hoffman never does.... Read more ›
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
You may not admire Capote, but Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a great performance
4 Oct 2007
Format:DVD
At the start of the movie, I would have given a lot to be standing next to Truman Capote at his party, both of us half drunk, listening to his anecdotes and trading quips with him. At the end of the movie, I wouldn't have wanted to be in the same room with him.
Capote is a major motion picture, in my view, with a great, mesmerizing performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote. Hoffman doesn't just mimic Capote's languid lisp and effeminate mannerisms. He captures the man's drive, his ambition, his empathy, his charm, his determination to get what he wants. What Capote wants is to write a book, and the book is going to be the story of the slaughter of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, by two drifters, Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.). The two broke into the Clutter's home because they'd heard there was $10,000 hidden. They tied up Herb Clutter and his 15-year-old son, Kenyon, and took them to the basement. They tied up Bonnie Clutter and the 16-year-old daughter, Nancy, and left them upstairs. After searching the house and finding no hidden cash, Hickock intended to rape Nancy. Smith stopped him...but then slit Herb Clutter's throat and used a shotgun to blast his head. Then Smith used the shotgun on the son, the mother and the daughter. They left with only about $50.
Capote and Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), a friend acting as his assistant, travel to Holcomb and spend three months talking to everyone they can find, from Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the cop in charge, to the teen-agers who knew the young Clutters. After Hickock and Smith are captured, Capote develops a strange, almost intimate, relationship with Smith.... Read more ›
Capote is a major motion picture, in my view, with a great, mesmerizing performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote. Hoffman doesn't just mimic Capote's languid lisp and effeminate mannerisms. He captures the man's drive, his ambition, his empathy, his charm, his determination to get what he wants. What Capote wants is to write a book, and the book is going to be the story of the slaughter of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, by two drifters, Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.). The two broke into the Clutter's home because they'd heard there was $10,000 hidden. They tied up Herb Clutter and his 15-year-old son, Kenyon, and took them to the basement. They tied up Bonnie Clutter and the 16-year-old daughter, Nancy, and left them upstairs. After searching the house and finding no hidden cash, Hickock intended to rape Nancy. Smith stopped him...but then slit Herb Clutter's throat and used a shotgun to blast his head. Then Smith used the shotgun on the son, the mother and the daughter. They left with only about $50.
Capote and Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), a friend acting as his assistant, travel to Holcomb and spend three months talking to everyone they can find, from Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the cop in charge, to the teen-agers who knew the young Clutters. After Hickock and Smith are captured, Capote develops a strange, almost intimate, relationship with Smith.... Read more ›
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
CONNED!
Anyone who has watched this film should watch INFAMOUS with Toby Jones playing Capote. How this superb film was overlooked in favour of CAPOTE and Seymour-Hoffman's excruciating... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pat Barnett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just Brilliant ++++++++++++++++++
If you want to watch a great actor at work just watch this film, unbelievable portrail of Capote just excellent.
Published 13 months ago by septimus-blake
4.0 out of 5 stars
capote
Who and what was Truman Capote? I bought this DVD to find out. The enigma remains for many people, including myself. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2010 by Dr. David M. Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars
Capote
Truman Capote's famous book, "In Cold Blood", is one of the best books I have ever read. I thought the film concentrated too much on Capote's relationship with Perry Smith, whereas... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by Richard Howard
4.0 out of 5 stars
hoffmann's meteoric performance
I was bowled over by Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting and found it totally compelling in what I felt was a rather pedestrian film. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by inch worm
4.0 out of 5 stars
'Capote' not 'Infamous'
There were two films about Truman Capote that were released in fairly quick succession. The first was this one - 'Capote', in 2005, followed by 'Infamous' a few months later in... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2009 by Vitamino
4.0 out of 5 stars
'Capote' not 'Infamous'
There were two films about Truman Capote that were released in fairly quick succession. The first was this one - 'Capote', in 2005, followed by 'Infamous' a few months later in... Read more
Published on 25 July 2009 by Vitamino
3.0 out of 5 stars
Glossy, yet dull ...
The acting, cinematography, script and sets merit five stars, but alas, the subject matter downgrades it. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2009 by Tyke
4.0 out of 5 stars
Capote
`Capote' explores the life of Truman Capote as he wrote his most well known book `In Cold Blood'. It follows him as he befriends one of the killers of a horrible murder and gains... Read more
Published on 19 April 2009 by Spider Monkey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hoffman is SENSATIONAL
Phillip Hoffman is truly sensational in his portrayal of Truman Capote
Anybody who has ever seen the real Truman Capote [checkout YOUTUBE] Hoffmans voice,looks and... Read more
Anybody who has ever seen the real Truman Capote [checkout YOUTUBE] Hoffmans voice,looks and... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2009 by XANDER
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